Choose your own version of LA in 2050

If you live here in Los Angeles, chances are the LA 2050 initiative has flooded your Twitter stream. And your Facebook stream. And your inbox stream. And your dinner party stream. 279 projects that aspire to shape the future of LA across eight indicators are competing to win $100,000 from the Goldhirsh Foundation, and until April 17 you can vote for which project you’d like to support.

The great thing about LA 2050 is that there are so many wonderful ideas for Los Angeles, and the worst thing about LA 2050 is that there are so many wonderful ideas for Los Angeles.

So many of my friends have submitted smart projects which I would love to see happen that it would already be difficult for me to make a decision—however, I myself have TWO projects from nonprofits I work with in the running! See how tough this is???

And that brings me to my point. I’m highlighting the two projects I’m affiliated with (in alphabetical order) so you can read them and decide if you’d like to vote for one of them:

Especially if you live outside of LA, your vote will make a big difference because I think getting outsiders to vote on the kind of LA they want to see is just as important as asking us Angelenos. We want to know what you think! And if neither of these projects looks like the kind of LA you’d like to live in (or visit), please visit the LA 2050 site and vote for the project you’d most like to see. There are 277 other ideas!

If you decide to vote, thank you so much for giving a few minutes to shape the future of Los Angeles—something I’m incredibly passionate about, as you know.

A few technical notes…

You can vote by clicking the aqua button that says VOTE on the project pages I link to above.

To vote, you’ll have to log in with your GOOD account. If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to create one. It’s free and all you need is an email or Facebook account. You’ll be emailed a link to verify your address and then you’ll need to go back to the page to vote.

Once you’ve voted, you’ll see a verification on the top of the page that your vote has been counted.

You can only vote once, however, you can change your vote before April 17 if you’ve already voted: simply click vote on the project you want to vote for, and you’ll be asked if you want to change your vote.

When you return to the site it will likely log you out so it will look like you haven’t voted yet. This has caused great confusion among people who think you can vote multiple times.

This isn’t affiliated with GOOD, as some of you have asked me. The Goldhirsh Foundation is the foundation of Ben Goldhirsh, who is the founder of GOOD, so they’re using GOOD Maker, a voting platform created by GOOD.

A project has to make it into the top 10 of its indicator to be considered for a grant.

If you’d like to share one of the projects above via Facebook or Twitter I would certainly not be opposed to it!

Read my articles elsewhere

I regularly write about design, architecture, cities, transportation and walking for several publications. You can read my latest and greatest stories below, or clicking on the publication will take you to all my articles for that publication. You can also read my favorite stories from 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

View my photos

Check out our next de LaB

Design East of La Brea is a monthly design event I co-host with Haily Zaki, Marissa Gluck and Erin Cullerton. Almost always east of La Brea. Learn more about past de Labs and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Walk this way

Los Angeles Walks is a new pedestrian advocacy organization that's focused on making walking safe, accessible and fun for all Angelenos. Sign up for our mailing list and join us at an upcoming event to share your ideas or take a walk with us.

Climb some stairs

Join me and some of LA's most interesting people for The Big Parade, an annual 40-mile walk through Los Angeles over the city's many public stairways. Read about this year's walk, or come along for a practice walk (sometimes hosted by me), which take place throughout the year.

Listen to DnA: Design and Architecture

Tune in to DnA: Design & Architecture, the KCRW show hosted by Frances Anderton on the third Tuesday of every month, where I'm an associate producer. For local design events, check out the DnA calendar.

Bring GOOD Ideas for Cities to your city or school

An initiative funded in part by ArtPlace, GOOD Ideas for Cities asks creatives to create solutions to urban problems proposed by city leaders, and present the results at lively public forums. Read more about this program I co-founded with GOOD's Casey Caplowe and how you can get involved.